Tennessee was on the other side of the rout-that-wasn’t on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.
A week after playing Florida much closer than expected, the Vols got more than they wanted from Ohio University, holding off the 23-point underdogs, 34-23.
UT (2-2) had to overcome an early 14-7 deficit and never really dominated the Bobcats (2-2) from the Mid-American Conference.
An announced crowd of 95,535 included a significant number of ticket-buyers who chose to stay home on a rainy day and watch the game on pay-per-view or listen to it on the radio.
The Vols got another 100-plus-yard rushing game — and a touchdown — from Montario Hardesty.
Jonathan Crompton threw touchdown passes to Brandon Warren and Bryce Brown — and his eighth interception.
And defensive end Chris Walker chipped in with a 7-yard interception-return touchdown to give the Vols a little breathing room.
The Bobcats had only one offensive touchdown, a 2-yard pass from Theo Scott to LaVon Brazill in the first quarter.
Their other touchdown was a 95-yard kickoff return from Chris Garrett, also in the first quarter.
Tennessee’s 24-17 halftime lead shrunk before it grew.
Daniel Lincoln missed his first field goal of the year, hitting the upright from 46 yards – after which Ohio drove for an 18-yard field goal from Matt Weller to make it a 24-20 game.
The Bobcats almost got more than that after arriving with first-and-goal at the 4.
On third-and-goal at the 2, middle linebacker Nick Reveiz stopped Donte Harden at the 1 and Ohio opted for the field goal.
The Vols answered with a 73-yard drive — all on the ground until Crompton flipped a screen pass to Bryce Brown for a 26-yard touchdown.
UT led 31-20 as the fourth quarter began.
It began with a near-disaster for the Vols.
On the second play of the final period, Crompton fumbled while retreating near the sideline. Ohio linebacker Noah Keller picked up the football and ran 46 yards for an apparent touchdown.
When the play was reviewed, however, Keller had stepped out of bounds as he scooped up the ball. Tennessee retained possession.
Tennessee scored on the game’s opening drive but quickly found itself in a catch-up posture.
Hardesty’s 11 yard TD run capped a 69-yard drive and put the Vols on top 7-0.
While the Vols were celebrating on the sideline, Ohio’s Chris Garrett took Chad Cunningham’s kickoff and darting 95 yards for the game-tying touchdown.
It’s not as if UT shouldn’t have been warned. It was the fourth kick-return score of Garrett’s career.
Tennessee then followed its special-teams mistake with one on offense — a Crompton interception.
On third-and-14 at his 28, Crompton threw a pass that deflected off Gerald Jones into the arms of Ohio’s Keller.
The Bobcats were in business at Tennesse’s 30 and the Vols almost made the defensive stand.
On third-and-5, however, Theo Scott hit Taylor Price for 25 yards to the 2. Then, spotting an apparent coverage bust, Scott flipped to a wide-open LaVon Brazill for the go-ahead score.
UT’s response was not immediate. An exchange of punts that concluded with a 21-yard Nu’Keese Richardson return put the Vols in business at the Bobcats’ 30.
On fourth-and-1 at the 21, Crompton flipped a short pass to Hardesty, who rambled 18 yards to the 3.
From there, Crompton hit Brandon Warren for the score to tie it 14-14 on the last play of the first quarter.
The second quarter settled into a stalemate, broken when Chris Walker intercepted a Scott pass and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown and a 21-14 UT lead.
In the final 3:18 of the half, both teams executed hurry-up drives, each good for three points.
Weller’s 36-yard field goal made it a 21-17 game with 40 seconds on the clock.
The Vols hustled in position for Lincoln’s 38-yarder on the final snap of the half and Tennessee went to the locker room with a 24-17 lead.
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Comments » 331
Cldvols1 writes:
Let's kill em Vols!!! woooooohooooooo
ChattMac writes:
Our special teams screwed up as usual.. We get the touchdown that we should and special teams drops the ball...
volsfannsc writes:
Last weeks report card gave special teams a B+. I gave them a D+. Tonight they deserve an F. And to think, this year they have a special teams coach!
ChattMac writes:
man oh man...
ChattMac writes:
okay D...just another game for u to win for us...
VolHooch42 writes:
"Good" job Crompton you jack$$%.
volsfannsc writes:
INT for Crompton. Sound familiar?
ChattMac writes:
You've got to be kidding me...This team is playing with us...
VolHooch42 writes:
Yeah....true that.
I hope that Stephens will get in now.
volfan17 writes:
Yet another interception by Crompton. It's like he's a mole that's intentionally losing games. He CAN'T be that bad, can he? Just terrible! Now we're down to OHIO!
gavol writes:
Look what I found on Wikianswers
"Steve Schweitzdek holds the unofficial record for the number of interceptions thrown and returned for touchdowns in NCAA history. In 4 years at the collegiate level playing for Brown University and Boston College in the 1960's he threw 19. There are no official statistics kept for this measure, but it was compiled as a result of a MIT semester-long study of statistics from almanacs, game summaries, sports pages, team databases, file systems and press reports. Chris Berman was quoted as saying he is the best worst NCAA quarterback of all time. Schweitzdek failed to make the pros and went on to star in a series of extremely low budget porno movies in the 80's, one of which was called, "Logjammin" (where he aptly fixes the cable), and followed them up with his current high-profile career as a real estate attorney. Today he lives near Fort Lauderdale, FL and enjoys golf, fine beers and wines, telling lies and hotdogs. Schweitzdek."
volsfannsc writes:
Whats up with the D???? Doesn't Monte have a scheme for this?
ChattMac writes:
okay..the news is out..we're flat..Or maybe the defense has made a pact to let the other team score every time Crompton throws an int. That will force coaches hand.
ChattMac writes:
DC. It's been raining all day. Nobody cares about Ohio..Obviously the team is flat..Typical down week after playing a big game last week.
volfan17 writes:
I've never understood being "flat". How can you put on a football uniform, step on the field and not give it everything?
ChattMac writes:
Still in there...Hah..the whole team is screwing him over..
berryballer writes:
get crompton out and give stephens a chance i mean he cant do any worse...sh#t this is pissin me off.
ChattMac writes:
If the team won't play ball with Crompton, then how can he leave them in there. Just to prove a point???
ChattMac writes:
Defense knows they have to score....another result of the offense being so bad..
kiffownsfla writes:
Guys we gota do sumthin this IS NUTS! CROMTON IS WORTHLESS ! IM SICK OF THIS phooey=
VolnAL writes:
Gotta love Crompton! So it goes with our beloved coach!
soccervol writes:
Kiffin, you're losing the fanbase by keeping Crapton in...Please make a change.
VolnAL writes:
You said it - Kif is proving we need a quarterback at the expense of the rest of the team.
ChattMac writes:
He's still there..see they hate him...
fball writes:
u guys ready for another moral victory?
Razzle writes:
Still early men.
cobbwebb writes:
wtf? did brandon james transfer to ohio u. ?
cobbwebb writes:
imagine that! ohios starting qb was pulled in their first game because of a fumble!
Moaninglikeheck writes:
What happened to my Tennessee Volunteers? Two bad seasons under Fulmer over sixteen years didn't justify this BS.
Fire Hamilton, now. He's responsible, ultimately.
Fulmer had some quarterbacks lined up. What happened to that Bryce Petty kid? Oh yeah, he's at Bowling Green, right? And Tahj Boyd? Don't care why he's not playing at Clemson, at least he'd be on the roster and lined up for next year.
cobbwebb writes:
what is wrong with gerald jones?
dma38256#264746 writes:
And....they've got Auburn coming up.....
cobbwebb writes:
old habits are hard to break!
Cldvols1 writes:
Keep me updated folks on the score, thank you! Go Vols!
jimr07 writes:
I am now ready to join the crompton sucks crowd. he is horrible. come on lane, do something different.
jimr07 writes:
are we being outplayed and outcoached or are we being outplayed and outcoached?
soccervol writes:
I'm going to say both...I'm saying coaching too just b/c our coach still has crompton in.
jimr07 writes:
finally good defense. at least this keeps crompton off the field.
gobigorange1 writes:
Our quarrterback situation will improve only slightly if Nick Stephens is brought in. Our recievers, freshman and veterans alike, couldn't catch a cold. They're stacking eight in the box against the run and our defense is having a letdown like they usually do after a huge game. We'll win, not by much, but we'll win. And next week we'll see Nick Stephens start against Auburn, in my opinion, much to the same result. It's going to take awhile guys, and though he's from my neck of the woods, it won't even begin to turn around until Crompton is gone I'm afraid. Three OC's in as many years be damned, you can either play in the NCAA or you can't. I thought WK was the turning point. I was wrong.
daniellovesutfootball writes:
Jenzen Jackson sure is lighting the Bobcats up...him and Berry both!
jimr07 writes:
this team has completely outplayed us so far even though we are winning. their quarterback is so much better than ours it is embarassing. is the mustang defense back? i am not sure.
DRAGtheWATERS writes:
thank god for walker!!!! here is a link with free streaming if anybody needs some video of the game its runnin slow though http://linksadoor.com/live_tv/sports/...
GO VOLS!!!!!!!!
bobbytodd writes:
Wow. I came on here to kill some time while I was listening to the game. I haven't seen so many cry babies at one place since I picked my kid up at day care of Friday. If UT ends up winning by 25 you will say they played great but Ohio scored 14 points with 1 first down. Don't get your diaper in a wad.
soccervol writes:
Crompton can't look off receivers...guys are open left and right and he wants to thread the needle.
shipperman#280095 writes:
At least Jonny Boy didn't disappoint, he has his interception for this game. Has at least one in every game...What consistency
soccervol writes:
Crompton should have 3 picks right now. This is embarrassing.
DownTheField writes:
i can't believe how bad crompton is... CLK is not a good oc
volfan17 writes:
Just heard the guy on the radio say that it was a good that Crompton threw 3 in completions because it saved some clock. WHAT?!
jimr07 writes:
agree at this point. monte, the game started about an hour and a half ago.
UrbanStopCallingMe writes:
Tebow just got knocked the freak out. :)
kiffownsfla writes:
he is PATHTIC im done lane will keep him 2 the bitter end!never wished bad ona vol i want him put out!
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